Bullying. We act as though it’s a grade school problem that ends after high school graduation, but it never ends. It’s everywhere, and it affects just about everyone from a “typical” suburban mom to Kim Kardashian to cute little dogs. Once upon a time, people used to be able to escape from their bullies by just going home, unless the bully was a family member. But now, we have social media. Yay.
We can go on Facebook and watch hours of cute animal videos and DELICIOUS videos of people making food. But have you ever looked at the comments? It’s a sad thing to do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen GROWN ADULTS post a comment that includes the statement, “Kill yourself,” or something along those lines. It’s bad enough when a child says something like that, but how could so many adults think it’s okay to say those things, too?
The phone or computer screen does NOT shield people from the pain that can come from the words you type, and no one is completely immune to the effects of bullying. It doesn’t matter how rich or popular or sweet you are, someone is going to bully you. Mothers seem to be one of the favorite types of people to bully on social media. Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, cloth or disposable diapers, car seats, moms of your kid’s friends, etc. Moms are constantly being belittled for every little decision. Celebrities and “normal” mothers alike are bullied on social media. I keep hearing about Kim Kardashian being robbed and being forced to beg for her life so that she can see her kids again, and yet she’s being harassed because of the situation.
Let me just say this: I don’t care. I don’t care how you feel about even the smallest, most unimportant decisions a mother makes. Most mothers are probably trying incredibly hard to be the best they can be, and they don’t need the added stress of being bullied.
But mothers aren’t the only ones being bullied. A lot of people receive harsh and unnecessary criticism. Even animals face discrimination. I recently learned that dogs and cats that are black are apparently less appealing to people and are less likely to be adopted than animals of any other color. My dog is black, and I’m so sad that he would be less appealing to people than a lighter dog.
My point is that bullying, including cyber bullying, is incredibly harmful. It’s more widespread than we act like it is, and it doesn’t stop when we graduate high school. Social media does not give you a free pass to be horrible to people.
I have little ones in my life, my cousins and children of family friends, and I don’t want them to grow up in a world where people think it’s okay to say horrible things just because they say them on social media. Stop it. If you’re old enough to have social media, you’re old enough to know better, and there’s absolutely no excuse.
